The Louisiana Purchase is considered the greatest real estate deal in history. The United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from France at a price of $15 million, or approximately four cents an acre. The signing of the
Louisiana Purchase treaty on April 30, 1803, doubled the size of the United States and opened up the continent to its westward expansion. This timeline examines the role of Congress in the Louisiana Purchase from 1802 to 1807, including ratification of the treaty, establishment of a territorial government, confrontation with Spain over boundary issues, and its limited role in the Lewis and Clark Expedition. All of the congressional documents contained within this timeline come from the American Memory collection A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation.